A Rich Resource - Family!

"Hey, Dad, what do you think.....?" I hear those words or ones similar when one of our kids calls for advice or just to share the latest news about life. Phones and email keep our family connected despite being scattered geographically. When they call with a request for advice, prayer, or encouragement it is never an imposition, never too much, because we are family! The importance of an intact family unit cannot be over-emphasized. One of the leading predictors of a child's academic and social success is his family of origin. A dysfunctional or broken family environment creates a much more difficult road to adulthood.

This week, once again, the importance of my family connections made itself known to me.  I watched several friends encounter strong winds of trials and heard them reaching out to their natural and spiritual families. We are all hit by spiritual 'flu' every now and then. Depression comes with its terrible feelings of unworthiness and inadequacy. Temptation roars out of the dark trying to own us. Prayer becomes a major struggle. Doubts about the love of God and fear of the future crash through our being like a stormy ocean's waves crashing over a seawall. Those seasons of my life are terribly hard. But, when we have support of family, natural and/or spiritual, we can hang on 'til the storm passes over.

The 'family of God' of which I am part offers encouraging words, and best of all, prayer. Is it hard for you to ask for prayer and support? Do you somehow believe that you’re too sinful, too old, too smart, to ….. to ask for help? Those who belong to God's great big family are foolish not to draw on the rich resources of it. David exults in the joy of being part of God's family. "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families." (Psalm 68:5-6, NIV) Woven through St. Paul's letters to the Christian churches is the theme of familial care that should characterize the relationships of those who are Believers. His favorite descriptive words for those in the church are “brother and sister.” "Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more." (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10, NIV)

Are you strengthening your ties to God's family? It takes real focus and intention to maintain family ties. The business of everyday life will obliterate the bonds of love. Misunderstanding will creep in and the easiest choice, in the moment, is to just stop talking. But, silence builds immovable walls over time! Keep the connection strong by quickly dealing with conflict and by stepping over the inevitable offenses that will arise in the church, just like they do in our natural families. Be forgiving, open, honest, and loving. Take every opportunity to pray for others, seeking God's favor for His family.

Take this word from the Word with you today and meditate on it, even as you praise God for the gift of His great family.
"Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless-cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God's words; if help, let it be God's hearty help. That way, God's bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus,  and he'll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything-encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!" (1 Peter 4:8-11, The Message)

____________

We Will Stand

 Sometimes it's hard for me to understand

Why we pull away from each other so easily,
Even though we're all walking the same road.
Yet we build dividing walls
Between our brothers and ourselves.

 The day will come when we will be as one,

And with a mighty voice together,
We'll all proclaim
That Jesus, Jesus Christ is King.
It will echo through the earth;
It will shake the nations,
And the world will see,
See that

 You're my brother, you're my sister,

So take me by the hand.
Together we will work until He comes.
There's no foe that can defeat us
When we're walking side by side.
As long as there is love,
We will stand.

Taff, Russ / Taff, Tori / Hollihan, James

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